


Work Without Hope

by Shelleygirl82



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Batman (Comics), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-06
Updated: 2017-03-06
Packaged: 2018-09-28 15:10:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10126187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shelleygirl82/pseuds/Shelleygirl82
Summary: A string of robberies are happening all over Central City that are catching the eye of Barbara Gordon (Batgirl). Selina Kyle (Catwoman) approaches Len Snart about a theft that might be too tempting to disregard. How will this effect his relationship with his boyfriend Barry Allen?In to season 3.





	

_Work without Hope draws nectar in a sieve,_  
And Hope without an object cannot live.  
\--Samuel Taylor Coleridge

 

Chapter One

“This is Susan Williams of 52News reporting live from Mercury Labs. We have received word of a second break-in in the past month at the research lab in the past month. The CCPD has no official comment at this time. Tina McGee, CEO of Mercury Labs will be joining us momentarily--”

The sound of the TV no longer distracts anyone was the bartender mutes the news report and switches to a college basketball game. The noise of the bar changes, but still remains buzzing white noise.

Leonard Snart hears her footsteps long before she slid into the booth. 124 seconds before. He takes a pull of his beer as he scans the dark bar. His plan for the night was to have a quiet drink with his dinner before turning in for the night. Len has no reason to be suspicious that his plans changed with the appearance of the brunette at Sinners and Saints, just a twitch in the base of his skull. 

Scientific.

He watches Vi cross the bar and offer the woman a menu and take her order. 

“Who is that?” he asks when Vi settles behind the bar, beginning to make a martini.

“Never saw her before,” Vi answers. She shrugs her shoulders and digs out a cocktail shaker from a cranny next to the lowboy fridge. Vi can’t remember the last time she had to shake a drink at this bar. Pain in the ass.

“Maybe I’ll go find out what brings her here,” Len says, grabbing a beer from behind the bar and rising to his feet. Vi rolls her eyes and tries to find the vermouth. She knows there’s a dusty bottle somewhere.

“May I join you,” Len asks as he approaches the booth. The woman looks up at him. She’s slender, dressed in a worn leather jacket. Her hand gestures for him to slide in.

She cocks her head, evaluating the man sitting before her. His curiosity brought him over here. It wasn’t what she was expecting. 

“Please.” Vi slides the martini in front of the brunette and disappears. She’ll get the lowdown from Len later.

The brunette sips her drink, then removes her jacket. Len isn’t sure what this battle of wills is about. Then he sees it.

On her inner left wrist, revealed as she pushed up the sleeves of her black cashmere sweater, is a small tattoo of a cat. The design is recognizable if you study master thieves like Len has. There is a celebrity sitting before him. 

She’s younger than he expected.

It’s Catwoman.

She catches his eye and follows his sightline. He’s looking at her tattoo; she smirks.

“Captain Cold, a pleasure.” She extends her hand and offers a hearty handshake. Manners should not be abandoned when amongst thieves.

“Always, Catwoman. What brings you so far from Gotham?”

“Oh the usual. Something to steal. Are you always so blunt Mr. Snart?”

Len steeples his hands together and looks her square in the eye. “Mr. Snart was my bastard father, Ms. Kyle. I prefer to think of myself as direct. You’re a long way from home and you show up at my favorite bar. I can’t say that doesn’t make me curious.”

“You know what they say about curiosity,” Selina smirks. Len groans and wonders for a moment if that’s what he sounds like with his puns.

Selina sighs and clears her throat. “I need some help in a heist. It’s here in Central City so I thought I’d reach out to the best.”

“I can’t say I’m not flattered, but a little surprised.”

“This is a two person job. I don’t work regularly with a partner. I need someone who is more familiar with the lay of the land and I reached out. The time table is kinda tight.”

Len leans back in the booth and evaluates her words. There is something not quite sitting right for him. A master thief like Selina Kyle would be able to handle almost any possible job. There is a piece missing.

Selina leans forward on her elbows and looks his square in his blue eyes. A grin spreads across her face.

“Suspicious. Seems natural. It’s really simple. I don’t have time to plan the job the way it needs to get done so I need a freelancer.” She reaches in her pocket and removes an envelope. “Here are the details. Think it over.”

Len takes the envelop and twirls it between his fingers before placing the envelop in his pocket to read later.

“How about a drink?” he proposes, waving a hand toward Vi. She brings vodka on ice and a scotch on the rocks without asking. Selina takes her vodka and smiles. She can’t say what causes her to lean back in the booth, retreating from her fully alert posture. There’s something about Snart that she likes, even if she can’t fully put her finger on it.

Leonard takes a long sip, feeling the burn as the amber liquid slides down his throat. That is his favorite part of drinking. The initial burn before it dulls the senses.

“Your reputation around this city certainly precedes you. You and your Rogues. Is it true that you don’t kill anymore.”

“Only when it’s necessary. I could say the same about you. You seem to have nine lives.”

“A cat joke. Never heard that before.”

“Its not even a good one. I’ve been told I make excellent puns.”

“I doubt that. You seem to want to ask me something. Go ahead.”

“What’s he like? The Bat?”

“You’re direct. Like any of them. Surly. What’s the Flash like?” Her eyes lit up wickedly when she asks.

“He’s not surly,” Len answers measuredly. “I’d say he is the opposite of that.”

Selina grins and notices there a tiny, unprotected warmth in Len’s voice when he talks about the Flash. Interesting.

“Batman is a detective. I can’t begrudge him when he finds me. Mostly, I do what I can to avoid him. His brats though…”

“What is it that Gotham calls them?” Len asks. You can’t trust everything you read in the paper.

“The Batfamily? I’ve mostly dealt with Batgirl and Robin in addition to Batman. Tangled with Batgirl enough as of late.”

“Is that why you’re here?”

“No. This job pays enough that I can take a break for awhile and that sounds rather appealing at the moment.”

“What would you do,” Len asks, “if you’re not stealing?”

“I’ve never had the chance to find out,” Selina answers truthfully. “Might be interesting to discover what this crazy world has to offer outside of Gotham.”

“Hmm.” The two thieves sit in silence, sipping their drinks. There’s something about her that Len likes. She reminds him of his sister, seductive and cautious, but there’s something else. Something harder, like him.

The moment stills as Len sweeps the bar.

He can’t believe he hadn’t noticed him enter. He’s in the corner of the bar with Vi, sulkily sipping on a beer. His fingers are pawing through a bowl of bar snack mix. It’s gross, thinking of the fingers that have dug through those wasabi peas.

He can practically feel the lightening vibrating off of him as every second passes with Selina in the booth. 

Scarlet coughs. Loudly.

Subtle, as always.

Selina finishes the last sip drink and glances back at Len. She drums her fingers to announce she’s done, an unnecessary flourish that indicates she’s picking up on the shift in the air. Time to escape.

“Think about it. The way to contact me is in the envelope.” She pats his hand before standing. 

She shakes out her hair, slides the leather jacket over her shoulders and saunters out of the bar. Len watches her escape, and isn’t surprised when the less than amused smirk of Barry Allen greets him. He replaces Selina in the booth. 

“Who was that?” he asks, half demanding. Len doesn’t like the tone. There is something darker than suspicion in it. Jealousy? Either way, this isn’t going to be fun. Barry folds his arms across his chest and leans back.

“A business opportunity I’m not sure about. What brings you here Scarlet?” He sighs and signals for another drink when the speedster grabs his wrist. Vi pours a double shot this time.

“You weren’t at home.”

“No. I was checking out some things. Thought I’d grab some food and say hey to Vi.” He relaxes his wrist and places his hand into the other man’s. He gives a quick squeeze before grabbing his drink. “You were going to be out all night on patrol if I recall correctly.”

“Whoever that woman was isn’t Vi,” Barry states. Len rolls his eyes and decides its best to try avoiding this topic going much further. Discussing theft usually isn’t helpful when they fought outside of costumes.

The turns life take seem ridiculous.

If you had asked Barry Allan about the state of his life a year ago, he’d have no words. But here he was, coming off a patrol, stalking his boyfriend in a jealous rage. All because the house they share—the house he shares with Captain Cold—was empty.

Barry has always had a hard time articulating why he’s spooked by an empty house. Anyone familiar with his family history could connect the dots and give a pop-psychology analysis. It’s not hard, considering how his parents died.

“No, Vi is working,” Len answers. He takes a sip of his drink. “You hungry? Did you eat?”

“I can always eat. I’m beat. Today was a long day.”

“Anything unusual?”

“No. I had a bunch of tests to run, one of my solutions wouldn’t mix properly. Just one of those days. It’s boring.”

Len shrugs. “You know I am always curious about forensic tests.” Barry laughs and his shoulders relax slightly. “So you ran all the way over here because I wasn’t home.”

“I may have wanted a burger. Then I saw you in the corner talking to that woman. What is this ‘business opportunity’? Who is she?”

“Someone I hadn’t met before,” Len replies truthfully. “She looked me up and came here to solicit me. I must be getting predictable if strangers can find me.”

“I’m not sure predictable is the right word. Your fame-baiting a few years ago has made a few things about you known. And if you want to find a Rogue, Sinners and Saints is usually a good bet.”

“Fame-baiting?”

“What would you call it?”

“Flash-baiting.” Len smirks satisfied as he drains the last bit of his drink and stretches his arms. “How long were you home for?”

“Less than ten minutes, why?”

“I’m trying to gage how much of a mess the house is. Ten minutes is usually plenty of time for you to do significant wreckage.” To say Barry Allen could be a slob was an understatement. 

“All I did was take a shower. And before you ask, the towel is not on the floor. It’s hanging on the hook.” Barry smiles brightly, deeply satisfied with himself.

“That’s good. We’re hosting dinner tomorrow night and I don’t have time to clean before everyone comes over. I have a tight schedule.”

“It’s just Friday night dinner. Not everything has to be hand made,” he chides as Len pales at the thought of pre-bought ingredients. Yes, he probably doesn’t need to make the pasta noodles fresh each time they have spaghetti but dried pasta offends his sensibilities as well as his palette.

“Not everything can be hand made with the bottomless pit that you are, but Fridays are special. You want me to order you that burger?”

As if on cue, Barry’s stomach grumbles, as if it knows it can be filled. He narrows his eyes, pondering what his boyfriend is up to.

“I can order my own food you know.”

“But I thought I’d give you a chance to get home before me and clean up whatever disaster is truly waiting for me so I’ll wait the ten minutes its going to take for your burger to cook and me to head home.”

Barry opens his mouth to protest but closes it. It’s not worth the pointless argument, especially when Len is right. And he knows it.

“With cheese.”

“And pickles,” Len finishes with a smile. Barry gets up from the booth, ready to dash home. He leans forward to give Len a quick peck.

“Oh, and Barry,” he murmurs against his lips. “We need cat food. Can you grab it in a flash?”

Barry grows and walks out of the bar, toward the edge of the parking lot and then flashes off.

Len stands, chuckling to himself, far more pleased with his pun then is warranted.

“Anything else?” Vi asks as she wipes down the bar.

“Just Barry’s usual to go.”

“I don’t know where that kid puts it. Coming right up. Everything okay?”

“Always.” Vi heads back to the kitchen to place the order. Len fidgets with his phone. He’s not ready to open the envelop Selina gave him. He opens up his browser and types in “Catwoman”, curious what pops up.

The top four entries are dated from a year ago, the last time she was in a public scrap with Batman. None of this really tells him anything, especially a thief at her level.

Vi comes out from the kitchen, plastic bag knotted twice in her hand.

“Tell that boy I threw in that chili he liked as well.”

“You spoil him you know,” Len says affectionately.

“I’m not the only one Len. You think he hung the moon so I might as well start thinking that too. And he tips ridiculously well.” Len laughs, a broad smile spreading over his features that stays longer than a beat.

“All right, well I’ll check in over the weekend. And hey Vi, if you see that woman who came to talk to me again, let me know.”

Vi nods and watches as Captain Cold saunters out of her bar, heading for a quiet night at home.

Life is strange.

**

The scream is mixed with curses as Barbara Gordon props up her knee. Nestled under her chin is an ice pack. She shifts, trying to mitigate any pain running through her body.

She got a beating tonight, thanks to Poison Ivy. She had stopped the biological seductress trying to steal a rare rose from the nursery but Barbara managed to get a lead pipe to the knee and chin thanks to Ivy before she slipped into the night.

Barbara runs an algorithm searching for patents for compounds that include the rose Ivy was chasing. While she waits, she digs into the putenesca Alfred sent over for her on Sunday. Leftovers and crime fighting—just a normal Tuesday.

The computer pinged, alerting Barbara to a match.

Mercury Labs held a patent for a biotoxin that included pollen from the rose.

Mercury Labs is all the way in Center City. Could this be what Ivy is tracking down? Anything is possible.

Barbara begins researching Mercury Labs and finds herself on the homepage of the Central City Picture News—the lead story is about the city’s hometown hero The Flash’s latest battle with someone called The Top.

The Top incites vertigo and the Flash beat her by spinning her counter clockwise.

Is that really the best technique? Barbara muses as she reads the breathless account of the scuffle. Central City seems to be a little in love with their scarlet speedster. She’s not sure she approves worshipping a city’s vigilantes. 

Her ice pack slips as she shifts her shoulder. The bruise is bubbling to the surface. Her jaw is going to throb for days.

She might as well keep an eye on Central City while she’s at it.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm extremely rusty writing and this is my first story in this fandom. I've enjoyed so many of the works I've found here that it inspired me to give this a try.
> 
> Any feedback is greatly appreciated. I hope you like it!


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